STATEWIDE - We start with the electoral wave that hit the west coast of Wisconsin on Tuesday with the surprise victory of Democrat Patty Schachtner in Senate District 10. We welcome Eric Couto, executive director of Wisconsin Progress, to discuss the implications of the SD 10 upset and the critical role of recruiting and training great candidates to run for office.

Our panel takes a closer look at the Governor’s race following the release of campaign finance reports and the first public poll. Robert analyzes the junk science in the new Congressional report which absurdly concludes Medicaid is worsening the opioid crisis. Finally we chat with Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative member Sue Anderson who invites our listeners to the Runaway Inequality Book Club discussion this Sunday, January 21. the goal is to better understand the failings of the neoliberal economy.

GREEN BAY - Adam Jarchow lost in Tuesday’s senate election in part because he and his Republican friends chose to attack struggling families.

Despite voters’ rejection of these types of attacks, Governor Walker sees them as his opportunity to excite his supporters and shift their attention away from the fact that he, President Trump and Republicans in Madison and Congress have failed to help improve their lives.

Instead of giving a Taiwanese billionaire over $4 billion that will do little to help the vast majority of people in this state, a more informed governor might have decided instead to invest that money into our own families, businesses, schools and roads all across the state.

Now, seeing that his reelection ploy is not working, he is trying to divert the people’s attention by calling a special session to wage new attacks on working families and the poor.

Governor Walker’s call for a special session is another sign that he and legislative Republicans are running scared. It is a transparently political move that is just another reason so many people are voting for real change in Wisconsin and around the country.

Contact your State Senator now. The partisan attack is unfair and Mike Haas deserves confirmation for continuity and expertise in our elections.

MADISON - The State Senate will vote Tuesday, January 23 on the appointments of two public servants who have been unfairly targeted for partisan reasons and without any evidence of wrongdoing. Elections Commission Administrator Mike Haas and Ethics Commission Administrator Brian Bell both have the unanimous support of the bipartisan commission boards they work for, yet Sen. Fitzgerald has promised he will oust both administrators with the vote on the 23rd.

We at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin have worked directly with the Elections Commission, and we have found that Haas has served in his position honorably and without bias. It is especially concerning to us that elected officials are attacking him without cause in an election year when the public needs confidence in our democratic processes and in the integrity of our elections.

In a breach of good governance, Fitzgerald has refused to allow a public hearing where the administrators could defend their names. That is why your State Senator needs to hear from you before voting on the matter on Tuesday.

Contact your State Senator now. Tell her/him that the partisan attack is unfair and that Mike Haas deserves Senate confirmation for continuity and expertise in our elections. To find your own State Senator, click here and enter your address above Find Your Legislator, near the little map of Wisconsin.